Yesterday, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania adopted a new Law on Prevention of Corruption, which will replace the regulation on prevention of corruption approved almost 20 years ago.
The new version of the draft Law on Prevention of Corruption was submitted to the Seimas by the President of the Republic of Lithuania. The draft law was prepared together with the Special Investigation Service (STT) and the Committee on National Security and Defence (NSGK) of the Seimas.
Gitanas Nausėda, the President of the Republic of Lithuania, emphasises that this law, which complies with the recommendations and good practices of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, will create a systemic environment for Lithuania’s resilience to corruption. ‘When there is a lack of security in the world, the threat of corruption poses a double threat to the state. The state must be healthy, strong and united. Meanwhile, corruption divides and weakens the state, declines its economy, destroys citizens’ trust in their state. The law adopted by the Seimas yesterday is a timely instrument for strengthening Lithuania’s resilience,’ – the head of the state says.
‘This new Law on the Prevention of Corruption aims to ensure that the heads of public sector institutions pay real attention to the development of an anti-corruption environment, and that those responsible for the prevention of corruption have not only an obligation but also sufficient guarantees to carry out such activities. Another important aspect is the possibility to measure the results of prevention of corruption, thus promoting changes in transparency. Only by fundamentally changing the culture of creating an anti-corruption environment and strengthening anti-corruption awareness, we can achieve a higher quality of transparency in the public sector, as well as greater trust of people,’ – Žydrūnas Bartkus, the Director of STT, says.
According to Laurynas Kasčiūnas, the Chairman of the Committee on National Security and Defence: ‘There have been no significant changes in the field of prevention of corruption, and the adopted law will provide a basis for initiating these changes. I am pleased with the joint work and results of the President’s Office, the Special Investigation Service and the NSGK. An anti-corruption system based on public involvement will contribute to increasing transparency in the state.’
The new Law on Prevention of Corruption should provide opportunities for systemic rather than fragmental prevention of corruption in the state. Key aspects:
- Responsibility of public sector entities to take care of the prevention of corruption among themselves and their subordinates is envisaged.
- The law establishes the rights, obligations and operational guarantees of entities responsible for resilience to corruption.
- Conditions for measuring and comparing the level of resilience of public sector institutions to corruption are provided, thus motivating institutions to implement anti-corruption measures consciously and voluntarily.
- The involvement of private sector entities in creating an environment resilient to corruption is encouraged.
The law stipulates that the system for creating an environment resilient to corruption includes measures to prevent corruption, increase anti-corruption awareness, ensure the reliability of staff and other activities or measures. More attention is also paid determination of the level of resilience to corruption, assessment of corruption risk management and implementation of anti-corruption standards of conduct.
You can get acquainted with the new version of the Law on Prevention of Corruption here. The law adopted by the Seimas will have to be signed by the President of the Republic of Lithuania. The expected date of entry into force of the law is 1 January 2022.
